Lenny Kravitz pg.2

	We are here to praise him as an impeccable visual and a subversive aesthetic comparable to any cultural maven working the international scene. Are you gonna argue with a man who produced a Vanessa Paradis album a/l/a Jane Birkin and managed to keep a straight face throughout the proceedings. And personally, his image construction is skillfull to the point of historic because no other rock artist today has managed to ride the risky seam between fashion and music with as much aplomb as Mr. Kravitz . If only Lenny had been a little more lean and panther like --then we would have been talking Thriller figures my boy. For now however, he is The Simalucrum. He is eminently Made to Order --brilliantly exploiting rock's critical inability to interact with the present (much less the future). What's brilliant about his exploitation? Why, he's the musician as human sampler. His brain is the MIDI machine that spits out the familiar riffs that makes pony-tailed A&R sloths feel young again. Lenny goes wraaaaaaang and they rise shouting, fists pumping in the wood panelled office-- "Rock'n Roll lives!" A blur of dreadlocks and an oh-so sexy wriggle of the hips and they're convinced that those elements are somehow modern. And if Lenny is only in it for the money then this is a Malcolm Mclaren level conspiracy. And if Lenny truly believes in the music he makes then he is the Western World's first idoru--you know a Pop Star By Committe-Battaries included. click

We are here to praise him as an impeccable visual and a subversive aesthetic comparable to any cultural maven working the international scene. Are you gonna argue with a man who produced a Vanessa Paradis album a/l/a Jane Birkin and managed to keep a straight face throughout the proceedings. And personally, his image construction is skillfull to the point of historic because no other rock artist today has managed to ride the risky seam between fashion and music with as much aplomb as Mr. Kravitz . If only Lenny had been a little more lean and panther like --then we would have been talking Thriller figures my boy. For now however, he is The Simalucrum. He is eminently Made to Order --brilliantly exploiting rock's critical inability to interact with the present (much less the future). What's brilliant about his exploitation? Why, he's the musician as human sampler. His brain is the MIDI machine that spits out the familiar riffs that makes pony-tailed A&R sloths feel young again. Lenny goes wraaaaaaang and they rise shouting, fists pumping in the wood panelled office-- "Rock'n Roll lives!" A blur of dreadlocks and an oh-so sexy wriggle of the hips and they're convinced that those elements are somehow modern. And if Lenny is only in it for the money then this is a Malcolm Mclaren level conspiracy. And if Lenny truly believes in the music he makes then he is the Western World's first idoru--you know a Pop Star By Committe-Battaries included.

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Grace Jones had this seminal track titled Victor Should have Been a Jazz Musician - and it constituted one of her finest moments. We contend "Lenny Should Have Been A Fashion Editor! - The Ultra-Retro Threads, The Christian Roth wraparounds, the parade of high end photographers; Si Newhouse ought to hand Vogue over to him. Don't think we're being totally wry either, Lenny treads a noble, noble tradition. It worked for everyone from the Roxy Music (Anthony Price) to Blondie (Stephen Sprouse) to (don't snicker) Menswear--so what's the problem with a brother clocking it?

Lenny is the ultimate symbol of what happens when a youth culture music style loses its roots and ends up as pure spectacle for a conservative audience uninterested in the present moment. That Rock'N Roll should come around to Lenny Kravitz is only fitting. What we're trying to say is this: Lenny Is An Ironic Concept. Lenny Is Chuck Berry's Revenge. Free Lenny Kravitz! South American trust fund brats worship him. In Punta Dell Este (top secret winter retreat for the international glitterai) the mayorship is a ripe cherry waiting for his picking. He's in heavy rotation at rich kid Upper East Side playgrounds like Frederick's wedged between Bowie and U2 on the jukebox. Romeo Blue knew what time it was. Naomi"Babywoman" Campbell wishes. RocK'N Roll is Dead. Viva Le Rock Champagne.